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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle. The Amazon is twice the size of India and sprawls across eight countries and one territory, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. It has about 20% of the world’s fresh water and astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. But governments have historically viewed it as an area to be exploited, with little regard for sustainability or the rights of its Indigenous peoples, and experts say exploitation by individuals and organized crime is rising at alarming rates. “The fires and drought experienced in 2024 across the Amazon rainforest could be ominous indicators that we are reaching the long-feared ecological tipping point,” said Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, an organization that works to protect the rainforest. “Humanity’s window of opportunity to reverse this trend is shrinking, but still open.” There were some bright spots. The level of Amazonian forest loss fell in both Brazil and Colombia. And nations gathered for the annual United Nations conference on biodiversity agreed to give Indigenous peoples more say in nature conservation decisions. “If the Amazon rainforest is to avoid the tipping point, Indigenous people will have been a determinant factor," Miller said. Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon — home to the largest swath of this rainforest — dropped 30.6% compared to the previous year, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. The improvement under leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva contrasted with deforestation that hit a 15-year high under Lula's predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies. In July, Colombia reported historic lows in deforestation in 2023, driven by a drop in environmental destruction. The country's environment minister Susana Muhamad warned that 2024's figures may not be as promising as a significant rise in deforestation had already been recorded by July due to dry weather caused by El Nino, a weather phenomenon that warms the central Pacific. Illegal economies continue to drive deforestation in the Andean nation. “It’s impossible to overlook the threat posed by organized crime and the economies they control to Amazon conservation,” said Bram Ebus, a consultant for Crisis Group in Latin America. “Illegal gold mining is expanding rapidly, driven by soaring global prices, and the revenues of illicit economies often surpass state budgets allocated to combat them.” In Brazil, large swaths of the rainforest were draped in smoke in August from fires raging across the Amazon, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland and the state of Sao Paulo. Fires are traditionally used for deforestation and for managing pastures, and those man-made blazes were largely responsible for igniting the wildfires. For a second year, the Amazon River fell to desperate lows , leading some countries to declare a state of emergency and distribute food and water to struggling residents. The situation was most critical in Brazil, where one of the Amazon River's main tributaries dropped to its lowest level ever recorded. Cesar Ipenza, an environmental lawyer who lives in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, said he believes people are becoming increasingly aware of the Amazon's fundamental role “for the survival of society as a whole." But, like Miller, he worries about a “point of no return of Amazon destruction.” It was the worst year for Amazon fires since 2005, according to nonprofit Rainforest Foundation US. Between January and October, an area larger than the state of Iowa — 37.42 million acres, or about 15.1 million hectares of Brazil’s Amazon — burned. Bolivia had a record number of fires in the first ten months of the year. “Forest fires have become a constant, especially in the summer months and require particular attention from the authorities who don't how to deal with or respond to them,” Ipenza said. Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guyana also saw a surge in fires this year. The United Nations conference on biodiversity — this year known as COP16 — was hosted by Colombia. The meetings put the Amazon in the spotlight and a historic agreement was made to give Indigenous groups more of a voice on nature conservation decisions , a development that builds on a growing movement to recognize Indigenous people's role in protecting land and combating climate change. Both Ebus and Miller saw promise in the appointment of Martin von Hildebrand as the new secretary general for the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization, announced during COP16. “As an expert on Amazon communities, he will need to align governments for joint conservation efforts. If the political will is there, international backers will step forward to finance new strategies to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest,” Ebus said. Ebus said Amazon countries need to cooperate more, whether in law enforcement, deploying joint emergency teams to combat forest fires, or providing health care in remote Amazon borderlands. But they need help from the wider world, he said. “The well-being of the Amazon is a shared global responsibility, as consumer demand worldwide fuels the trade in commodities that finance violence and environmental destruction,” he said. Next year marks a critical moment for the Amazon, as Belém do Pará in northern Brazil hosts the first United Nations COP in the region that will focus on climate. “Leaders from Amazon countries have a chance to showcase strategies and demand tangible support," Ebus said. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .
Officer kills pet dog mistaken for a coyote in Massachusetts town. The owner says it was unnecessary An animal control officer shot and killed a pet dog in a Massachusetts town after mistaking it for a coyote in an incident local police are describing as a sad mix-up. Police in Northbridge, Massachusetts, say the shooting happened on Tuesday after police received a call of a report of a coyote in a residential backyard. Police say the animal control officer went into the woods to look for the coyote and found what they thought was the animal in a threatening position and shot it. The incident happened as communities around Massachusetts and the country have dealt with an uptick in interactions between coyotes and people. Alyssa Nakken, first full-time female coach in MLB history, leaving Giants to join Guardians CLEVELAND (AP) — Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to coach in an MLB game, is leaving the San Francisco Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians. Nakken made history in 2022 when she took over as first-base coach following an ejection. A former college softball star at Sacramento State, Nakken joined the Giants in 2014 and was promoted to a spot on manager Gabe Kapler’s staff in 2020, becoming the majors’ first full-time female coach. Nakken has been hired as an assistant director within player development for the Guardians, who won the AL Central last season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt. Nakken, 34, will work with former Giants coaches Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa. Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album 'GNX' LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present with a new album. The Grammy winner released his sixth studio album “GNX” on Friday. The 12-track project is the rapper’s first release since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” Lamar’s new album comes just months after his rap battle with Drake. The rap megastar will headline February's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. The 37-year-old has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Ancient meets modern as a new subway in Greece showcases archaeological treasures THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, is opening a new subway system, blending ancient archaeological treasures with modern transit technology like driverless trains and platform screen doors. The project, which began in 2003, uncovered over 300,000 artifacts, including a Roman-era thoroughfare and Byzantine relics, many of which are now displayed in its 13 stations. Despite delays caused by preserving these findings, the inaugural line has been completed, with a second line set to open next year. Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules LONDON (AP) — A civil jury in Ireland has awarded more than $250,000 to a woman who says she was raped by mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor in a Dublin hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. The jury on Friday awarded Nikita Hand in her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018. The lawsuit says the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that Hand fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex. McGregor says he will appeal the verdict. At least 19 people are sick in Minnesota from ground beef tied to E. coli recall U.S. health officials say at least 19 people in Minnesota have been sickened by E. coli poisoning tied to a national recall of more than 167,000 pounds of potentially tainted ground beef. Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Co. recalled the meat sent to restaurants nationwide. Minnesota state agriculture officials reported multiple illnesses and found that a sample of the product tested positive for E. coli, which can cause life-threatening infections. No illnesses have been reported outside of Minnesota. Symptoms of E. coli poisoning include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and signs of dehydration. Actor Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend drops assault and defamation lawsuit against once-rising star NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend has dropped her assault and defamation lawsuit against the once-rising Hollywood star after reaching a settlement. Lawyers for Majors and Grace Jabbari agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice Thursday. Jabbari is a British dancer who had accused Majors of subjecting her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship. Representatives for Majors didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Friday. Jabbari’s lawyer said the suit was “favorably settled” and her client is moving on with “her head held high.” Majors was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment last December and sentenced to a yearlong counseling program. Hyundai, Kia recall over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix problem that can cause loss of power DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a pesky problem that can cause loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. The recalls cover more than 145,000 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles including the 2022 through 2024 Ioniq 5, the 2023 through 2025 Ioniq 6, GV60 and GV70, and the 2023 and 2024 G80. Also included are nearly 63,000 Kia EV 6 vehicles from 2022 through 2024. The affiliated Korean automakers say in government documents that a transistor in a charging control unit can be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery. Dealers will inspect and replace the control unit and a fuse if needed. They also will update software. Christmas TV movies are in their Taylor Swift era, with two Swift-inspired films airing this year Two of the new holiday movies coming to TV this season have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding. “Christmas in the Spotlight” debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world’s biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger, playing a pro football player, who meet and fall in love, not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. On Nov. 30, Hallmark will air “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Instead of a nod to Swift, it’s an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark’s headquarters is also in Kansas City.THE HAGUE (AP) — The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza. The warrants said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. The action by the International Criminal Court came as the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza passed 44,000 people, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed were women and children. Their count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Experts say hunger has become widespread across Gaza and may have reached famine levels in the north of the territory, which is under siege by Israeli troops. Israel says it has been working hard to improve entry of aid, though the trickle of supplies into Gaza remains near the lowest levels of the war. Netanyahu condemned the warrant against him, saying Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions” by the court. In a statement released by his office, he said: “There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza.” Gallant, in a statement, said the decision "sets a dangerous precedent against the right to self-defense and moral warfare and encourages murderous terrorism.” The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice. The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects, putting them at risk of arrest when they travel abroad and potentially further isolating them . Israel and its top ally, the United States, are not members of the court. But others of Israel's allies, including some of its close European friends, are put in an awkward position. Several, including France, welcomed the court's decision and signaled they might arrest Netanyahu if he visited. The move “represents the most dramatic step yet in the court’s involvement in the conflict between Israel and Hamas," said Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Israeli leaders, politicians and officials across the spectrum denounced the warrants and the ICC. The new defense minister, Israel Katz, who replaced Gallant earlier this month, said Thursday’s decision is “a moral disgrace, entirely tainted by antisemitism, and drags the international judicial system to an unprecedented low.” Human rights groups applauded the move. The warrants against both sides “break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law,” the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, Balkees Jarrah, said in a statement. The decision came six months after ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested the warrants. The court issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’ armed wing, over the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza. It said it found reasonable grounds to believe Deif was involved in murder, rape, torture and the taking of hostages amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. In the Hamas-led attack, militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking some 250 others hostage. Around 100 Israelis remain captive in Gaza, around a third of them believed to be dead. Khan withdrew requests for warrants for two other senior Hamas figures, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh , who have both since been killed. Israel says it also killed Deif in an airstrike, but Hamas has never confirmed his death. The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were issued by a three-judge panel in a unanimous decision. The panel said there were reasonable grounds to believe that both men bear responsibility for the war crime of starvation and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. The judges said the lack of food, water, electricity, fuel and specific medical supplies created conditions “calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza,” including the deaths of children due to malnutrition and dehydration. They also found that by preventing hospital supplies and medicine from getting into Gaza, doctors were forced to operate, including performing amputations, without anesthesia or with unsafe means of sedation that led to “great suffering.” Israeli diplomatic officials said the government is lobbying the international community to speak out against the warrants and is considering an appeal to the court. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal decision on how the government will proceed. Despite the warrants, none of the suspects is likely to face judges in The Hague anytime soon. Member countries are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that. For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted on an ICC warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, recently visited Mongolia, a member state in the court but also a Russian ally. He was not arrested. Still, the threat of arrest now complicates any travel abroad by Netanyahu and Gallant. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the warrants are binding on all 27 members countries of the European Union. France signaled it could arrest Netanyahu if he came to its territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called it a “complex legal issue” but said France supports the court’s actions. “Combating impunity is our priority,” he said. “Our response will align with these principles.” Hamas in a statement welcomed the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant but made no mention of the one against Deif. Israel’s opposition leaders fiercely criticized the ICC’s move. Benny Gantz, a retired general and political rival to Netanyahu, said it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten.” Israel’s campaign has caused heavy destruction across Gaza and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive. Two days after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, Gallant announced a total seal on Gaza, vowing not to let in food, fuel or other supplies. Under U.S. pressure, Israel began allowing a trickle of humanitarian aid to enter a few weeks later. Israel now says it puts no limit on the supplies permitted into Gaza, and it blames the U.N. distribution system. But Israel's official figures show the amount of aid it has let in has plunged since the beginning of October. The U.N has blamed Israeli military restrictions, along with widespread lawlessness that has led to theft of aid shipments. The case at the ICC is separate from another legal battle Israel is waging at the top U.N. court, the International Court of Justice, in which South Africa accuses Israel of genocide , an allegation Israeli leaders staunchly deny. Lawyers for Israel argued in court that the war in Gaza was a legitimate defense of its people and that it was Hamas militants who were guilty of genocide. Associated Press journalists Raf Casert in Brussels, Mike Corder in The Hague and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.Eddie Lampkin, Donnie Freeman power Syracuse past Bucknell, 75-63 in final nonconference tune-up
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Blake's career receiving day helps Charlotte beat FAU 39-27The claim: US fell from 1st to 24th in education since Department of Education was created in 1979 A Nov. 14 Instagram post ( direct link , archive l i nk ) uses a meme with an image of former President Jimmy Carter to claim U.S. educational achievement has plummeted. “In 1979 I created the Department of Education,” reads on-screen text in the image. “Since then America went from 1st to 24th in education.” X owner Elon Musk made the same claim in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that was reposted 98,000 times. The claim also circulated widely on Instagram . More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False There is no evidence to support the claim. While multiple studies have compared U.S. students to their peers in other countries, none show they ranked first in 1979, nor do any say they ranked 24th in 2024. Tests show mixed results for US students There isn’t a definitive way to rank a country’s education quality, but multiple studies show results contrary to the trend claimed in the post. Martin Carnoy , a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, told USA TODAY that the claim is “completely inaccurate.” “These are very rough comparisons, but it can be said that U.S. middle school and secondary students have always done poorly on international tests of mathematics compared to students in other developed countries and have done better in science and reading,” Carnoy said. Many U.S. adults believe the country is either average or below average at teaching students science, technology, engineering and math, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in April. Fact check : No, Trump did not name Lauren Boebert education secretary on Nov. 13 But the results of a test measuring students' reading, math and science skills from about 80 countries show more of a mixed bag. In 2022, the test – called the Program for International Student Assessment – found five education systems with higher average reading scores than the U.S., 25 with higher math scores and nine with higher science scores. The test has existed since 2000 , when 32 countries participated. That year, eight countries had higher math scores than the U.S. and seven countries had higher science scores. U.S. students performed “about as well on average” in reading compared to students in other participating countries. U.S. News & World Report ranked the U.S. as the top country for education in 2024 as part of its “Best Countries” rankings , which are based on an international survey of nearly 17,000 people who were asked “whether a country has a well-developed public education system, whether respondents would consider attending university there and if that country has a reputation for top-quality universities.” The news outlet has only ranked countries in that way for nine years . US students weren’t outperforming all other countries in 1979 There is no evidence of any widespread decline in student achievement in the U.S. since 1979, Carnoy said. U.S. math scores have been below many other countries for decades. In the mid-1960s, U.S. 13-year-olds were outperformed in math by students in all but one of the 11 other countries that participated in the First International Mathematics Study, while U.S. students in their last year of high school were ranked last, according to a National Center for Education Statistics report published in 1992. A similar study of math skills conducted in the early 1980s broke the results down by category, and found the U.S. was near the bottom in most of them. A different report published by the National Center for Education Statistics in 1993 analyzed two decades of National Assessment of Educational Progress results. It says “overall trends in science, mathematics and reading suggest few changes in levels of educational achievement.” National Center for Education Statistics charts of reading and math scores for 9-year-olds and 13-year-olds in the U.S. don’t show significant declines since 1979. Rather, math scores are up since then while reading is at about the same level, according to the latest test results from 2022 and 2023. Fact check: No, Trump didn't nominate Amber Rose as education secretary The high school graduation rate in the U.S. for the 1979-80 school year was 71.5%, far below the 87% reported for the 2021–22 school year . The college enrollment rate for those who completed high school has risen from 49.4% in 1979 to 61.4% in 2023 , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is important to recognize the U.S. doesn’t have only one education system – instead, each state has its own, Carnoy said. “Student performance in some states has increased greatly in the past 30 years, and not so much in other states,” he said. Carter signed the bill that created the Department of Education on Oct. 17, 1979, saying the federal government had “for too long failed to play its own supporting role in education as effectively as it could.” It wasn’t the first time that the U.S. had a Department of Education, though. In 1867, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill that created the country’s first Department of Education, but it was demoted to an office in the Department of the Interior about a year later “due to concern that the department would exercise too much control over local schools,” according to the current Education Department website. President-elect Donald Trump has said he supports eliminating the Department of Education, calling it a “bloated and radical bureaucracy.” USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Snopes also debunked the claim. Our fact-check sources Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here . USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta .
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WASHINGTON D.C., DC — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As the blueprint for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, Trump pulled an about-face . He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy . Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump's election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps' Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump's agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump's choices portend for his second presidency. The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president's proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration's agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025's and Trump's campaign proposals. Vought's vision is especially striking when paired with Trump's proposals to dramatically expand the president's control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency.” Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government's roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk's and Ramaswamy's sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump's choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans' health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over overlaps in the two agendas . Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump's West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump's “family separation policy.” Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick to lead the CIA , was previously one of Trump's directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document's chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe's chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe's and Trump's approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025's FCC chapter and is now Trump's pick to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts.BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle. The Amazon is twice the size of India and sprawls across eight countries and one territory, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. It has about 20% of the world’s fresh water and astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. But governments have historically viewed it as an area to be exploited, with little regard for sustainability or the rights of its Indigenous peoples, and experts say exploitation by individuals and organized crime is rising at alarming rates. Residents look out at the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River amid a drought in Humaita, Amazonas state, Brazil, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) Residents look out at the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River amid a drought in Humaita, Amazonas state, Brazil, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More “The fires and drought experienced in 2024 across the Amazon rainforest could be ominous indicators that we are reaching the long-feared ecological tipping point,” said Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, an organization that works to protect the rainforest. “Humanity’s window of opportunity to reverse this trend is shrinking, but still open.” RELATED COVERAGE Working Well: Returning to the office can disrupt life. Here are some tips to navigate the changes Stock market today: Wall Street rallies ahead of Christmas The internet is filled with fake reviews. Here are some ways to spot them There were some bright spots. The level of Amazonian forest loss fell in both Brazil and Colombia. And nations gathered for the annual United Nations conference on biodiversity agreed to give Indigenous peoples more say in nature conservation decisions. “If the Amazon rainforest is to avoid the tipping point, Indigenous people will have been a determinant factor,” Miller said. Wildfires and extreme drought Smoke from wildfires fills the air in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) Smoke from wildfires fills the air in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon — home to the largest swath of this rainforest — dropped 30.6% compared to the previous year, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. The improvement under leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva contrasted with deforestation that hit a 15-year high under Lula’s predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies. In July, Colombia reported historic lows in deforestation in 2023, driven by a drop in environmental destruction. The country’s environment minister Susana Muhamad warned that 2024’s figures may not be as promising as a significant rise in deforestation had already been recorded by July due to dry weather caused by El Nino, a weather phenomenon that warms the central Pacific. Illegal economies continue to drive deforestation in the Andean nation. “It’s impossible to overlook the threat posed by organized crime and the economies they control to Amazon conservation,” said Bram Ebus, a consultant for Crisis Group in Latin America. “Illegal gold mining is expanding rapidly, driven by soaring global prices, and the revenues of illicit economies often surpass state budgets allocated to combat them.” A boat navigates the Negro River amid smoke from wildfires in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) A boat navigates the Negro River amid smoke from wildfires in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In Brazil, large swaths of the rainforest were draped in smoke in August from fires raging across the Amazon, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland and the state of Sao Paulo. Fires are traditionally used for deforestation and for managing pastures, and those man-made blazes were largely responsible for igniting the wildfires. For a second year, the Amazon River fell to desperate lows , leading some countries to declare a state of emergency and distribute food and water to struggling residents. The situation was most critical in Brazil, where one of the Amazon River’s main tributaries dropped to its lowest level ever recorded. Cesar Ipenza, an environmental lawyer who lives in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, said he believes people are becoming increasingly aware of the Amazon’s fundamental role “for the survival of society as a whole.” But, like Miller, he worries about a “point of no return of Amazon destruction.” It was the worst year for Amazon fires since 2005, according to nonprofit Rainforest Foundation US. Between January and October, an area larger than the state of Iowa — 37.42 million acres, or about 15.1 million hectares of Brazil’s Amazon — burned. Bolivia had a record number of fires in the first ten months of the year. “Forest fires have become a constant, especially in the summer months and require particular attention from the authorities who don’t how to deal with or respond to them,” Ipenza said. Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guyana also saw a surge in fires this year. Indigenous voices and rights made headway in 2024 People from the Tikuna Indigenous community walk to receive aid from an NGO amid a drought near the Amazon River in Loma Linda, on the outskirts of Leticia, Colombia, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia, File) People from the Tikuna Indigenous community walk to receive aid from an NGO amid a drought near the Amazon River in Loma Linda, on the outskirts of Leticia, Colombia, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The United Nations conference on biodiversity — this year known as COP16 — was hosted by Colombia. The meetings put the Amazon in the spotlight and a historic agreement was made to give Indigenous groups more of a voice on nature conservation decisions , a development that builds on a growing movement to recognize Indigenous people’s role in protecting land and combating climate change. Both Ebus and Miller saw promise in the appointment of Martin von Hildebrand as the new secretary general for the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization, announced during COP16. “As an expert on Amazon communities, he will need to align governments for joint conservation efforts. If the political will is there, international backers will step forward to finance new strategies to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest,” Ebus said. Ebus said Amazon countries need to cooperate more, whether in law enforcement, deploying joint emergency teams to combat forest fires, or providing health care in remote Amazon borderlands. But they need help from the wider world, he said. “The well-being of the Amazon is a shared global responsibility, as consumer demand worldwide fuels the trade in commodities that finance violence and environmental destruction,” he said. Residents transport drinking water from Humaita to the Paraizinho community, along the dry Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River, amid a drought, Amazonas state, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) Residents transport drinking water from Humaita to the Paraizinho community, along the dry Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River, amid a drought, Amazonas state, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Next year marks a critical moment for the Amazon, as Belém do Pará in northern Brazil hosts the first United Nations COP in the region that will focus on climate. “Leaders from Amazon countries have a chance to showcase strategies and demand tangible support,” Ebus said. ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .Early in their 2024-25 season, the Philadelphia Flyers tried any and every forward line combination to find something that could stick. For the most part, they failed in their efforts. Over the past nine games, however, the Flyers haven’t moved anyone around much at all. That’s because they’ve finally found the right mix—there’s been no need to pivot. The trio that has objectively been the best is reminiscent of another, concocted a decade ago by a completely different franchise. How do these formations compare? Is Tippett-Frost-Michkov the New Triplets Line? One of the main goals for the Flyers this season was to get rookie Matvei Michkov acclimated in the NHL. So far, so good. With 27 points in 28 games on 17:01 of average ice time, Michkov’s 3.40 points per 60 minutes put him in elite company . Among 20 and under skaters with at least 20 games played, only Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Evgeni Malkin, and Mathew Barzal reached that mark. That total will fluctuate, but he’s putting up some jaw-dropping numbers right now. Two players in particular have helped activate the best out of him: Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost . Head coach John Tortorella has been running the three together for the past nine games, which has brought about some wonderful results. It’s very similar to another memorable line led by a then-budding Russian superstar. A few months ago, I looked at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s “Triplets Line”, formed in 2014-15, as a possible parallel for Michkov. Youngsters Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov, though a second line, were one of the most dangerous in the entire league. Kucherov, the feature of the line, just needed players he could mesh with to be a deadly force. Palat and Johnson were undoubtedly pretty good, coming off campaigns of 50-plus points, but Kucherov unlocked something in them. They weren’t Ovechkin and Crosby, but that kind of talent wasn’t necessary to be productive. The trio was unstoppable behind the security blanket of Steven Stamkos on the top line, allowing for a one-two punch in Tampa Bay. The team reached the Stanley Cup Final after having the NHL’s third-worst record just two seasons prior . Soon after, Kucherov blossomed into one of the best players in the league. The Tippett-Frost-Michkov line has a similar philosophy. Michkov is that budding Russian superstar, while Tippett and Frost are the supporting cast. The Flyers need to acquire a top center for the rookie at some point in his career, sure, but what they have now has been quite the treat. Their numbers compared to the Triplets Line are below: Aside from the unsustainably high finishing rate on the Flyers’ side, you can see some similarities here. Better yet, the Tippett-Frost-Michkov combination was tried earlier in the 2024-25 campaign with poor results—those older shifts are actually hurting the numbers here. They’ve taken off recently, and it has been beautiful to watch on the ice. There’s a level of chemistry brewing that has helped all three of them play their best hockey all season long. To answer the question this heading posed, there is a bit of a throwback here. Getting the best results out of Michkov (and his linemates as a result) has been possible with this new-found gold mine. No dominant center has been needed. Flyers Can Ride This Line to the Playoffs At 14-12-4, the Flyers find themselves in a playoff spot after losing nine of their first 13 contests of the season. Considering their positive momentum and the sharp play of the Tippett-Frost-Michkov line, the postseason is a real possibility. In their promising stretch, the Flyers have been far from lucky. One of the biggest luck-based measures in the NHL is PDO, which is the sum of shooting percentage and save percentage. Philadelphia is 14th in the metric since Nov. 7, yet has the sixth-best points percentage in the league during that span. The Orange and Black only need their goaltending to be passable, proven by their .893 team save percentage in that 17-game sample. The second line can provide the explosiveness, while the first line of Joel Farabee, Sean Couturier, and Travis Konecny can eat loads of minutes and simultaneously win them (66.67 GF%, 53.34 xGF%). With the defense being the healthiest it has been all season and playing at a high level, the Flyers are in a great spot. They still have holes, of course, but few teams have had a better stretch than they have over the past few weeks. The second line is the most important in making the playoffs a reality. The Flyers haven’t played postseason hockey at Wells Fargo Center since 2018. Their young but effective second line might be able to change that, though. With similarities to the Triplets Line of 2014-15, it might be what puts the Orange and Black over that playoff hump. Stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick (unless specified otherwise) This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.Syracuse and Georgetown meet for the 100th time Saturday when the Orange host the Hoyas in the latest installment of their classic rivalry. As former Big East Conference rivals, Syracuse and Georgetown have staged many memorable contests over the decades with the Orange holding a 54-45 all-time advantage. The teams still meet annually despite the Orange now playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Syracuse has won five of the last seven meetings, including a 12-point triumph in Washington D.C. last December. "It definitely felt like a Big East game," Hoyas coach Ed Cooley said after last season's contest. This time around, Georgetown (7-2) is coming off a 73-60 loss to West Virginia in which the team shot under 38 percent from the floor and committed 14 turnovers. "When the ball has music, when the ball is singing, unbelievable music happens," Cooley said. "The music is the play. The music is body movement and screening an open shot. We didn't have good music today." Thomas Sorber is the team's leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, although the freshman has failed to reach that average in six of the last seven games. Syracuse (5-4), meanwhile, is coming off a 102-85 win over Albany despite the absence of leading scorer J.J. Starling (19.8 points), who is out indefinitely with a hand injury. In his stead, freshman Donnie Freeman supplied 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting despite playing just 23 minutes due to an illness. "Whatever (illness) he has, he needs to keep that, if he can keep playing like, whatever he was feeling," Orange coach Adrian Autry joked. Syracuse will be looking for more success from 3-point range after hitting 6-of-15 (40 percent) against Albany. In their previous game -- a five-point loss to Notre Dame -- the Orange failed to make a 3-pointer for the first time in more than a decade. No Syracuse player has made more than 11 3-pointers this season -- and even that player (Chris Bell) is only shooting 25 percent from long distance. --Field Level Media
Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday asserted that satellite spectrum allocation will not follow a first-come-first-serve basis, while also addressing the recent controversy over personal remarks made against him in Parliament by an Opposition MP. Also Read : Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sukanta Majumdar walk the ramp at Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav | Video Speaking at the Times Network’s India Economic Conclave, Scindia emphasised that auctioning spectrum for satellite services was not feasible due to scientific constraints. “No country in the world auctions satellites because it’s physically impossible. The pricing will be decided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. That authority will assign the price, and based on that, the spectrum will be assigned to everyone that procures a license,” he said. Also Read : Aim of 3-day festival is to bring NE states to the world: Scindia The minister explained that satellite spectrum must be shared due to physical principles, making administrative allocation the global standard. “You can only auction something that is committed to a certain individual. For satellite phones, you have to point your antenna, and that’s when you get the signal, and it keeps shifting,” Scindia said. Also Read : TMC’s Banerjee apologises for remarks on minister Scindia Speaking about State-owned telecom operator BSNL, Scindia said the company has been posting operational profits since 2021, with revenues increasing by about 12% to ₹ 21,000 crore while expenditure reduced by 2%. He added that BSNL’s delayed 4G launch was due to its choice to use indigenous technology, with plans to roll out 100,000 towers by June 2025 Addressing the Parliament controversy, Scindia stressed the importance of maintaining decorum in democratic discourse. “In my 22 years of political experience, I have never made a personal remark about anyone. There should be a standard in politics,” he said, referring to offensive comments made by Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee during a discussion on the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said that Banerjee had submitted a written apology for his remarks, though Scindia refused to accept it, calling it a “personal attack on me and the women of India”.Letter writers comment on curbside recycling in Chesapeake, the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the future of the Newport News airport and parking at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. 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Now he’s telling how he did it Percival Everett, 2024 National Book Award winner, rereads one book oftenSYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Donnie Freeman each posted a double-double and Jaquan Carlos finished an assist shy of joining them as Syracuse closed out its nonconference schedule with a 75-63 win over Bucknell on Saturday. The Orange evened their record at 6-6 with their sixth win in seven home games, taking a 12-point lead at intermission and maintaining it through the second half, handing the Bison (4-9) their seventh straight loss. Syracuse, which lost its Atlantic Coast Conference opener to Notre Dame, finished nonconference play 6-5. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Anni Wahlroos appointed Innofactor's Deputy CEO